They may not seem like it at first glance, but those 20-somethings living in their parents' basement may take after the thrifty, debt-averse survivors of the Great Depression.
A new analysis of 25,000 users of SaveUp.com, a financial rewards program for saving and paying down debt, shows young adults putting money away at higher rates than their elders and keeping consumer debt low—all while aggressively paying off their student loans.
In March, according to SaveUp, young-adult users paid an average $461 on their student loan, 57 percent more than older counterparts' average payment of $294. The younger borrowers paid off 1.2 percent of their loan and older users 0.7 percent.
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Their credit card debt was a third lower, too, with the 22- to 32-year-olds holding an average balance of $4,220 versus $6,462 for the site's older users.
Meanwhile, they continued saving more in deposit accounts than their elders did. Younger adults had lower savings balances overall—likely because they've had less time to stash cash—18- to 32-year-old savers reported higher annual deposits to their savings accounts (See chart below.)
"When 50 percent of American don't have an emergency savings account, this is a powerful change," said SaveUp CEO Priya Haji.